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It's the Law!
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Who can be Guilty of Perjury?
by Demian David Tebaldi, Esq. Email your questions to: dtebaldi@tebaldiesq.com February 12, 2007
Dear ITL: A man goes to court and testifies with the intent to mislead, but the jury disregarded the man’s testimony and did not take it into account for the jury verdict. Is the man guilty of perjury? ~ E.T.
At first glance, it would appear that simply lying under oath, or, as you put it, “testifying with the intent to mislead” the finder of fact on a material issue, is sufficient to establish guilt on the part of the defendant. Until 2006, this was in fact the case, and a defendant could be jailed or fined (or both) for speaking falsely, even if he or she, under cross examination, recants the false statement or admits to having lied under oath. READ FULL COLUMN In March of last year, the law was amended to include the following condition: “If, in the same … proceeding in which a declaration is made, the person making the declaration admits to [sic] such declaration to be false, such admission shall bar prosecution under this section if, at the time the admission is made, the declaration has not substantially affected the proceeding…” The answer to your question lies there, but it is purely a matter of timing. If the defendant openly admits to having lied as to a material issue before the perjured testimony has a chance to do any significant damage, then the defendant cannot be prosecuted for perjury. If the defendant admits to having testified falsely, but not until, say, after the jury has deliberated on the issue and reached a verdict, the defendant may be prosecuted.
The penalties for perjury vary, depending upon the severity of the offense for which the underlying trial is being held. If a witness testifies falsely in a trial for a capital crime, such as felony murder, he or she can be jailed for life. If a witness perjures him or herself in a trial of any other crime, he or she can be incarcerated for up to twenty years in state prison or up to two and a half years in jail, or fined no more than one thousand dollars, or all of the above. As an aside, I find it interesting that the statute governing perjury includes specific punishments for falsely testifying during a trial for a capital crime, when, in fact, Massachusetts courts ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 1984 [Commonwealth v. Colon-Cruz, 393 Mass. 150 (1984)], and no defendant has suffered the death penalty since 1947.
*Disclaimer: The answers provided in this column are not in any way to be construed as legal advice. While the author is an attorney admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the questions presented do not come from clients, but from anonymous members of various Massachusetts communities. The answers presented merely describe what the law is, and do not contain specific strategies for dealing with the situations presented. If you have questions regarding these or other legal issues, please contact Attorney Demian David Tebaldi at 508-435-5576. |
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Dear
E.T.: The short answer is
“No.” The long answer is “Yes,” with a “but…” Let us have a look at
the Massachusetts General Law that deals with perjury. It is found in
Chapter 268, Section 1, and is titled, appropriately enough,
Perjury. “Whoever, being lawfully required to depose the truth
in a judicial proceeding … willfully swears or affirms falsely in a
matter material to the issue or point in question … shall be guilty of
perjury.”